An Act concerning application of foreign laws and
supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds
and declares that it shall be the public policy of this State to protect its
citizens from the application of foreign laws when the application of a foreign
law will result in the violation of any right guaranteed by the Constitution of
this State or of the United States, including but not limited to due process,
freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy.

2. A court, arbitrator,
administrative agency, or other adjudicative, arbitration, or enforcement
authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate any right
guaranteed by the Constitution of this State or of the United States.

3. a. If any contractual
provision or agreement provides for the choice of a foreign law to govern its
interpretation or the resolution of any dispute between the parties, and if the
enforcement or interpretation of the contractual provision or agreement would
result in a violation of a right guaranteed by the Constitution of this State
or of the United States, the agreement or contractual provision shall be
modified or amended to the extent necessary to preserve the constitutional
rights of the parties.

b. If any contractual
provision or agreement provides for the choice of venue or forum outside of the
states or territories of the United States, and if the enforcement or
interpretation of the contract or agreement applying that choice of venue or
forum provision would result in a violation of any right guaranteed by the
Constitution of this State or of the United States, that contractual provision
or agreement shall be interpreted or construed to preserve the constitutional
rights of the party against whom enforcement is sought. Similarly, if an
individual subject to personal jurisdiction in this State seeks to maintain
litigation, arbitration, agency, or similarly binding proceedings in this
State, and if a court of this State finds that granting a claim of forum non
conveniens or a related claim violates or would likely lead to the violation of
any right guaranteed by the Constitution of this State or of the United States
of either party in a foreign forum with respect to the matter in dispute, the
claim shall be denied.

c. Any contractual
provision or agreement incapable of being modified or amended in order to
preserve the rights of the parties pursuant to the provisions of this article
shall be null and void.

4. The provisions of this
section shall not apply when a firm, corporation, partnership, or other legal
entity is a party to the contract or agreement.

5. The public policies
expressed in the provisions of this section shall apply only to actual or
foreseeable violations of the constitutional rights of a party caused by the
application of the foreign law.

6. As used in this section
“foreign law” means any law, rule, or legal code or system established and used
or applied in a jurisdiction outside of the States or territories of the United
States.

7. This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill provides that a
foreign law may only be recognized by a court in New Jersey if it does not
violate any right guaranteed by the Constitution of this State or of the United
States of America. Any foreign law to be applied in New Jersey must provide
at least as much protection for rights including, but not limited to due
process, freedom of religion, speech, or press, and any right of privacy.

The bill also addresses
contractual agreements relating to choice of foreign law or forum:

(1) If a contractual
provision or agreement allows for the choice of a foreign law to govern its
interpretation or to resolve any dispute and that choice of law would result in
a violation of a constitutional right, the agreement or provision shall be
modified to preserve the rights of the parties.

(2) If contractual provision
or agreement allows for a choice of venue or forum outside of the United States,
and that choice would result in a violation of any constitutional right, the
provision or agreement shall be interpreted to preserve the constitutional
rights of the person against whom enforcement is sought.

(3) If an individual subject
to personal jurisdiction in this State seeks to maintain litigation or
similarly binding proceedings in this State, and if a court of this State finds
that granting a claim of forum non conveniens violates the constitutional
rights of the nonclaimant in the foreign forum, the claim shall be denied.

(4) Any contractual
provision or agreement which cannot be modified to preserve the constitutional
rights of the parties shall be null and void.

The provisions of this bill
shall not apply when a firm, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity is
a party to the contract or agreement.